San Jose, CA, March 8, 2005 – Level 3 Communications, Inc. (Nasdaq:LVLT) today announced that America Online, Inc. has signed a multi-year agreement to use Level 3 as the underlying network provider for its new Internet phone service. Level 3 made the announcement at the Spring 2005 VON (Voice on the Net) Conference and Expo being held this week in San Jose, Calif.
“We have a long-standing relationship with America Online built on a firm foundation of partnership between the companies in which Level 3 has been one of AOL’s key suppliers of network services for the past several years,” said Level 3 CEO Jim Crowe. “We’re very pleased that AOL selected Level 3 as its network partner for what promises to be an innovative Internet phone service for this rapidly emerging market.”
“As a major player and pioneer in IP services, including Voice-over-IP, Level 3 Communications has been a great partner for AOL as we get ready to launch a new generation of Internet phone services to both our members and our partners in the cable and cellular industries,” said John McKinley, President of AOL Digital Services and Chief Technology Officer of America Online, Inc. “Level 3 has provided us with the VoIP infrastructure we need to offer a fully-featured service with a solid nationwide footprint, E-911 capability and Local Number Portability.”
The AOL service uses a customized version of Level 3's consumer-oriented VoIP services. Level 3 offers a broad portfolio of VoIP services that allow its customers to reduce or avoid some of the typical upfront investments required to build and manage a VoIP service.
“Level 3 is emerging as the category leader in the enablement of residential VoIP services, having been selected in 8 of 10 recent major VoIP contract awards in a consumer market that research shows is poised for mass market adoption,” said Sureel Choksi, executive vice president of services for Level 3. “Emerging VoIP providers can benefit from Level 3’s broad national coverage to dramatically accelerate their time to market and significantly reduce the required investment to add VoIP to their service portfolio.”
“Level 3’s consumer-oriented VoIP services are based on tested, reliable technology that is already being used to terminate more than 30 billion minutes of data and voice calls per month. That network offers the broadest national coverage, now reaching approximately 93 percent of the U.S. population,” said Shirish Lal, senior vice president of Consumer Voice Services for Level 3. “Level 3 has the scale, experience and network coverage to deliver fully-featured phone services that deliver the safety of E-911, quality, and reliability that end users demand.”
Level 3’s consumer voice solutions offer E-911 (for “Enhanced 911”), which delivers address-specific information to public safety agencies whenever someone makes a 911 call, enabling first responders to be dispatched to the scene of an emergency even if the caller is unable to speak or if the call is suddenly disconnected.
About Level 3 Communications
Level 3 Communications, Inc. (NASDAQ: LVLT), an international communications company, operates one of the largest Internet backbones in the world, connecting 180 markets in 18 countries. The company serves a broad range of wholesale, enterprise and content customers with a comprehensive suite of services including: Internet Protocol (IP) services, broadband transport and infrastructure services, colocation services, voice and voice over IP services, content delivery and media distribution services. These services provide the building blocks to enable Level 3’s customers to meet their growing demands for advanced communications solutions. The company’s Web address is www.Level3.com.
"Level 3 Communications,” "Level 3," the red 3D brackets and the Level 3 Communications logo are registered service marks of Level 3 Communications, LLC in the United States and/or other countries. Level 3 services are provided by wholly owned subsidiaries of Level 3 Communications, Inc. Any other service, product or company names recited herein may be trademarks or service marks of their respective owners.
Forward-Looking Statement
Some of the statements that we make in this press release are forward looking in nature. These statements are based on management’s current expectations or beliefs. These forward looking statements are not a guarantee of performance and are subject to a number of uncertainties and other factors, many of which are outside our control, which could cause actual events to differ materially from those expressed or implied by the statements. The most important factors that could prevent us from achieving our stated goals include, but are not limited to our ability to: successfully integrate acquisitions; increase the volume of traffic on our network; defend our intellectual property and proprietary rights; develop new products and services that meet customer demands and generate acceptable margins; successfully complete commercial testing of new technology and information systems to support new products and services; attract and retain qualified management and other personnel; and meet all of the terms and conditions of our debt obligations. Additional information concerning these and other important factors can be found within Level 3’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Statements in this press release should be evaluated in light of these important factors. Level 3 is under no obligation to, and expressly disclaims any such obligation to, update or alter its forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise.
